March 3rd Game Recap: Wizards vs. Cavaliers

By: Jeremy Hyman

Wizards Win a Tight One

Sparked by Jordan Crawford's hot shooting down the stretch, the Wizards buckled down and knocked off the Cavaliers 101-98 on Saturday night at Verizon Center.

A game in which the Wizards trailed for much of the night, a fourth quarter spurt led the team to build up a 10 point lead. But, the Cavs also were able to fight back and managed to get a look at a game-tying three pointer at the horn. Fortunately for the Wizards, it was off the mark, and they were able to break a six-game losing streak by taking down the Cavs.

Jordan Crawford, starting for the injured Nick Young, led the team with 31 points on 13-22 from the floor.

John Wall had another solid performance, scoring 24 points to go along with his five rebounds and five assists.

Andray Blatche returned to the Wizards lineup and although he was held without a field goal, he played a big part in the win with his nine boards and five assists.

Roger Mason had a big 2nd quarter, when he scored all 11 of his points off the bench.

Jan Vesely also brought a lot of energy off the Wizards bench and had some of his best dunks of the season. He ended with nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks.

The Wizards return to battle on Monday night when they host the Golden State Warriors at Verizon Center at 7:00 p.m.

Highlights

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Postgame

WIZARDS GUARD JOHN WALL:

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On the team effort:
“JC (Jordan Crawford) was hot in the second half. It gave us a great boost. Roger Mason played great and hit a lot of shots. Jan added a lot of great energy and aggressiveness. Dray (Andray Blatche) gave us some good energy rebounding and playing defense. He gave us great minutes at the four and five positions. It was a great team effort.”

On staying aggressive:
“Coach has been telling me to be aggressive at the start of the game on both the offensive and defensive end. He told me it gives the team a spark and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish. It’s important for us to get off to a good start, play hard and play together.”

WIZARDS GUARD JORDAN CRAWFORD:

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On ending the losing streak:
“We were on a six-game losing streak and we needed to end it. Tonight happened to be the night. We did the things we needed to do, we got stops and got rebounds. It was good for us.”

On his play:
“I was shooting with confidence. I just wanted to go out and be aggressive. At the two-guard you’re supposed to be aggressive, get to the free throw line, things like that. I just wanted to do that and try to get a win.”

WIZARDS FORWARD JAN VESELY:

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WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE:

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On his first game back:
“It’s tough, not playing basketball for about a month. I didn’t want to come out there and try to force anything. I just wanted to play the game and help my teammates win. I just wanted to do the small things like hustle, get rebounds and help set my teammates up. That’s what I did and we were able to get the win.”

WIZARDS HEAD COACH RANDY WITTMAN:

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On the win:
“We’ll take that any way we can. It wasn’t pretty. I think we got into our bad habits at times and we’ll have to fix that. I think it was game we made harder than we should have, but that’s the learning process.”

On Antawn Jamison:
“He got off to a hot start. We all know what Antawn (Jamison) can do. He threw one in from his heel tonight that went in but I’ve seen that before. He got hot in that first quarter but I thought (Trevor) Booker tried to do what we asked him and I thought Jan (Vesely) came in the second quarter and quieted him down a bit.”

On Andray Blatche:
“He had nine rebounds and five assists. I told him before the game ‘you go out and play, don’t worry about results’. He’s got a lot of rust on him. It’s tough when you have a calf injury and can’t do any running for six weeks and then come out for two practices. For him to have nine rebounds and five assists, that was a big part of our game.”

On John Wall:
“John (Wall) has been playing well. I like where he’s been going with his decision making. As a coach you want to prepare them, get them ready and let them play. John’s getting a understanding of where I want ball, whose hands I want the ball in, what plays to run without having to look over at me every time. That’s the growth of the point guard and he’s made great steps over the past couple of weeks.”